Future Gohan What Could've Been
by GaretStrife
Summary: A One-shot on how things could've turned out in the battle against the androids. Will Gohan defeat the mechanical nightmare, or will he succumb to their overwhelming strength? There's only one way to find out. Please rate and review.


Future Gohan: What If

_This is a short take on how Future Gohan's battle with the androids should've gone. He was a kickass character (and a hell of a lot better than the present timeline Gohan, who is a complete twit) and didn't deserve to die the way he did. Anyways, I've said my piece. Hope you enjoy my take on how things should've gone._

The sun was shining brightly overhead and big, fluffy white clouds that had a semblance of sheep floated across the sky, barely disturbed by the low wind. Birds could be heard in the distance, singing and chirping at one another happily. For once, the planet actually seemed at peace which was a nice change for the Saiyan duo staring up at the sky.

The two had decided to take a short break from their brutal training regimen and enjoy themselves, while not thinking about transforming. But Trunks couldn't calm himself for anything and was asking what type of man his father Vegeta was. Gohan, the taller of the two Saiyans answered that he was strong, incredibly prideful and a fierce warrior. Trunks then went on to ask why he couldn't transform and how angry he was at himself because he couldn't.

But before their conversation could go any further, a massive explosion dwarfed a city to the north in a brilliant shade of golden yellow light that sustained itself for at least ten seconds before decreasing in size and winking out of existence. Scared, defenceless cries were silenced shortly after by several smaller blasts until only the sudden howling of the wind could be heard.

"Those two are at it again!" Trunks exclaimed angrily, fists clenched tightly at his waist, face contorted with anger and frustration. The young saiyan turned to see his mentor Gohan, face filled with rage and hatred.

"This is ridiculous! They didn't even stand a chance!" Fury engulfed him and the damn broke, bringing forth his super saiyan powers in a single powerful burst. A golden aura surrounded him and his hair stood on end, changing colour to gold. Trunks stood, completely transfixed on the form. "Gohan you can't," He muttered quietly after a time.

"Listen to me Trunks. Whatever happens, please promise me you'll stay here!" Gohan turned his fierce, hateful gaze towards the town ahead and the Androids that lurked within.

"But I'm a lot stronger this time." He begged, a fire of determination burning in his eyes. "I can't let you go alone, not with your injury. Please, Gohan. Let me help."

Gohan's face smoothed over and he smiled. "Okay Trunks, you win. Let's go get 'em." But the moment Trunks' back was turned; Gohan knocked him unconscious with a strike to the back of the neck. "Sorry about that Trunks, but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you. This is my battle for now little brother; you're not quite ready yet. I can feel them all crying down there Trunks, that's why I have to go! I know you'll understand someday. See ya later kid..."

Meanwhile, the Androids were enjoying a game to see how many people they could kill. #17 happily fired blast after blast at large, toppled buildings in an attempt to kill any survivors, while talking to #18. With an evil grin, she killed a survivor crawling from the rubble behind with a single finger blast, prompting 17 to say "now were tied". But, with a single kick to the face, Gohan launched #17 straight into the building he was about to demolish!

#17 emerged from the rubble, shirt torn with an angry look on his face. "That was quite an entrance you made. Too bad it'll cost you your life! You trashed my favourite shirt." Angry wasn't the word really. For once, #17 was enraged.

#18 landed lightly behind the Saiyan, sandwiching him between both mechanical nightmares. "But this is perfect," #17 said happily. "You can be out tie breaker."

"The one who kills him wins no ties. Its sudden death," #18 added in delighted tones. She was still laughing over the fact that her comrade lost his favourite shirt.

Gohan looked from one to the other, sweat rolling down his face. "You know you can't win! You can't destroy what I really am! Even if you manage to kill this body, someone even stronger would surface and take my place!" #18 simply smirked at the statement, prompting Gohan to increase his strength once again. "Not one death will go unaccounted for, not one!"

The Androids sprang into motion, flying quickly towards a handicapped Gohan, smirking evilly as they approached. Raising his one good arm, Gohan fired a small blast into the ground and took to the sky just ahead of the duo who instantly gave chase!

Turning quickly, he drove the front of his knee into #17's head and threw out his arm to block #18's punch. Spinning his body, he connected the female android on the temple with his foot before landing on the roof of a high building, awaiting the two to resurface. He'd won the first exchange, but the Androids would be wary now. After all, his strength had increased from his last encounter with the killers because of his saiyan blood making him stronger and because of his training with Trunks afterwards.

#17 was the first to approach and Gohan barely had time to register his movements before blocking the blow with an upraised right knee! The blow sent a jolt of pain through his leg, but Gohan kicked him away and turned instinctively to meet the sneak attack #18 would no doubt launch. He was right and parried away her continual strikes with a great deal of effort. But #17 had recovered and now both were attacking him relentlessly from the front, vanishing behind one another and reappearing to add more swift blows to the gauntlet!

Gohan tripped and turned, flying into the air in an attempt to break the duo up so he could find an opening. #17 launched a yellow beam, probably the same attack used to level the city previously and Gohan put a great deal of energy into the kick that repelled it back towards it source of origin! But the two easily dodged and continued to close in.

Gohan followed up with a one-handed Masenko, engulfing the approaching pair in a wave of yellow light before launching himself towards them, grabbing #18 by the ankle and slamming her into the roof of a nearby building. Still with a grip on her ankle, he threw her towards #17, hoping to throw him off guard, but he didn't so much as register the motion and simply avoided her before connecting the Saiyan warrior in the stomach with a powerful knee thrust!

Blood flew from Gohan's mouth and he staggered backwards, hand clutching his mid-region. #18 had recovered and stood beside her brother. Their clothes were tattered and their faces filled with quietly controlled rage. The two joined their hands and fired a single beam of energy towards their hated foe.

Gohan somersaulted back the way, mind straying to the time his own father was still alive. After he defeated Frieza and before he took ill, Goku was explaining how one obtains the Super Saiyan form. _Power comes from response to a need not a desire. You need to make that need._

Jumping over the beam, Gohan took his father's words to heart and flew towards both androids. #17 fired a single beam which Gohan dodged effortlessly, but he was caught by #18 who punched him in the face and sent him falling back! Again, the two were there, attacking him from the left and right. With the loss of his other arm, Gohan could only block so many attacks before they finally broke through his guard and rained punch after punch upon him.

The two backed up and formed two small, but powerful spheres of golden yellow energy in their palms and hurled them towards the Saiyan. Gohan recovered forming an energy shield around him before being sent flying to the ground by the duo. Jumping to safety after landing, he fired a quick Kamehameha which the androids matched with their own beam attack.

The energy collided and sparks flew! The Androids laughed as their beam began to overturn Gohan's, but after some pushing Gohan began to fight back and eventually began to gain ground. Despite the area they were in, small numbers of people were watching the fight from the rubble, eyes hopeful and voices cheering.

"I won't let them down!" Pouring more energy into the beam, Gohan saw the Androids eyebrows rise in surprise as they struggled to match the Kamehameha which slowly but surely began to overtake their own blast and push them back! Determination was marred on their faces as they somehow managed to equalize the beams once more.

Images flooded Gohan's mind. Piccolo, despite their differences in strength fought bravely to the end. Krillin, knowing he couldn't win tried anyway along with Yamcha, Tien and the others as well. Even Vegeta, the proud Saiyan Prince entered his thoughts, but one image stood large among them all. His father Goku, standing before Frieza as a Super Saiyan when he killed the tyrant and his father after coming home from Namek.

Summoning strength he didn't know he possessed, Gohan began to walk forward slowly, all the while pouring more and more power into the tussle of wills he and the Androids were locked in. Yelling as he unleashed more power, the Androids were overturned and sent flying into the buildings that lay behind them. And for once they didn't recover straight away.

Gohan leaped into the air and charged a sphere of energy in his palm. Both androids sat up and gave each other a look of sheer disbelief. #18 scowled before getting to her feet. "Darn him. He's so dead!" She charged forward and attacked with a flurry of punches that Gohan dodged by moving to her right. Keeping the energy that surrounded his hand wrapped around it, he delivered a devastating blow to her torso before releasing the energy in a widening blast!

#18's scream filled his ears and once the smoke cleared, nothing but small lengths of circuitry and wires remained of the once dreaded female Android. #17 looked completely shocked, for once not being able to talk or even form words. He just stood there, fists clenched tightly at his waist while his shoulders trembled with rage.

Gohan descended and the heavens opened. Rain fell in sheets and lightning flashed overhead. #17 finally moved forward a little. Anger wasn't a sufficiently strong word to describe the way he sounded when he finally spoke. "That's one mistake you won't live to regret, kid." He looked at the rain and lightning and grinned as though mad. "This setting will be the perfect backdrop for your demise."

"You can't win, Android. You've lost your advantage. I've already proved I can keep up with you one-on-one." Gohan sounded confident. Never had he managed to get a chance like this. In the past, whenever he gained any sort of advantage, they'd double-team him and that advantage would turn on its head as quickly as it appeared. But now only one remained. _I can't – won't – waste this opportunity!_

Gohan was surrounded by violet lightning as he charged his energy. _I need to end this now; otherwise I'll lose too much energy and become defenceless._ He shot forward and both rose into the sky, exchanging quick, powerful blows that echoed with each repeated strike. Those who were still alive below watched in amazement as Gohan matched the Android blow for incredible blow. Their cheers rose and they even got to their feet and shouted.

Finding an opening, #17 punched him square in the face and then kicked him down into the street below. Gohan landed awkwardly and could barely react in time to dodge the repeated ki blasts the Android rained upon him like a machine gun. Diving beneath some debris he summoned his energy shield once more and waited the attack out. The smoke would hide the fact he'd raised the shield, allowing him to attack quickly and hopefully stealthily.

After the barrage ended, Gohan lowered the shield and even lowered his golden aura so he could hide in the shadows. But sustaining the shield was difficult, draining some of his already depleted reserves. "Come out, or I'll blast you out!" #17 began to randomly destroy buildings, thankfully ignoring the area he'd just bombed. Gohan waited patiently on his chance, the hopes of thousands of tormented earthlings weighing heavily on his shoulders. If he could pull this off, the nightmare would end. Peace would return and the human race could rebuild again. He might even be able to go to Namek and make things right again.

But then something struck Gohan like a tonne of bricks. A power level was approaching, not as strong as his own, but not weak by any means. _Trunks!_ Gohan felt the blood drain from his face. He needed to be focused completely on #17 if he was even to have any chance at all in defeating the Android. If he had to protect Trunks as well, then his chances were going to drop considerably.

#17 stopped his continual assault and turned his attention towards the direction Trunks was flying in. Fear, anger and rage gripped Gohan and before he really knew what he was doing, he appeared before the Android and blocked his path, standing defiantly between the merciless killer and his pupil.

"Gohan, you're alive!" Trunks yelled as he approached.

"Trunks get back and stay hidden! Don't worry; he's the only one that's left." Gohan grinned confidently before launching himself toward the Android at a speed Trunks could barely follow. The two collided with clenched fists before reappearing high in the sky to deliver another violent attack, knees raised before they disappeared once again.

Trunks followed the battle eagerly and positioned himself in front of the survivors encase a stray blast shot towards them. At full power, he might just be able to divert an attack from either Gohan or #17, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that. He couldn't transform and would only be a hindrance to his master if he did go to help him now.

Taking the advantage, #17 attacked Gohan repeatedly before smashing him with both fists down into the city below! Gohan flew through several buildings before #17 teleported behind him and smashed him into the ground with a blow to the back.

Gohan gripped the ground with one hand and dragged himself from the rubble, badly beaten and showing it. Blood trickled from several cuts across his body, caused when he took the trip through the buildings. The orange gi modelled after his father's was torn at the top, revealing the ripped blue undershirt and half his chest was exposed, blood trickling from a nasty wound.

Struggling to his feet, Gohan looked at the Android while panting heavily. Trunks could feel his ki levels dropping sharply. It was a wonder he could even maintain his Super Saiyan form, but Gohan burst forward once again and somehow continually matched the mechanical nightmare blow for devastating blow!

Trunks didn't know where Gohan got the power from, but he ducked beneath #17's last punch and struck him hard in the chest, lifting the android into the air where he kicked his square in the side of the head and through another pile of debris. But the Saiyan warrior was nearing his limit. His ki was beginning to fade quickly and his breathing was becoming more and more haggard.

Trunks looked at his mentor and summoned his aura. Within seconds the young warrior was standing side-by-side with his mentor, face full of confidence and strength. "We'll do this together. They ganged up on you once before, remember? We'll do the same!" Gohan nodded agreement, however reluctantly and re-assumed his battle stance alongside Trunks.

"Stay with me Trunks! And stay focused. He's angry and won't take the time to toy around with you. Get ready!" Both flared their auras to the max and burst forward just as #17 burst from the debris and charged forward also. #17 actually looked frightened for once. The large aura that Gohan emitted washed over Trunks as they flew forward, giving him the appearance of being a Super Saiyan also, just like his mentor. The three fighters met in a blistering display of strength, Gohan and Trunks working their arms and legs as quickly as they could in an attempt to outmanoeuvre the demon.

But #17 was the one that managed to break free, taking advantage of Gohan's fatigue and kicking him away with a powerful kick and concentrating his attention on Trunks, who barely fended off the quick, deadly strikes the Android was hurling his way.

Gohan landed in a pile of ruined stone, vision going shaky and blurry. _T-Trunks! Hold o-on. C'mon Gohan. What would your father do?_

"_Get up Gohan!"_ The words, but more importantly the voice, struck Gohan into alertness. "D-Dad? Is that you?"

"_Yes son, now stand up! It's up to you to protect everyone! The future of Chi-Chi, of Bulma, not to mention the entire Planet! They're all depending on you! It doesn't matter if he's a million times stronger than you. You're not gonna let them down!"_

Meanwhile, Trunks was getting beaten to a pulp, #17 raining blow after continual blow upon the young, defenceless Saiyan. "This is the end of the line, kid. You did well for a while, but it wasn't good enough." #17 had him gripped by the throat, energy beginning to form in his palm.

_No, how often have my friends died or been hurt because I was too weak to help them? When the going got really tough, when I thought there was no way out, my friends were always there to bail me out. Piccolo, Krillin, even Vegeta! Not anymore!"_ Power awoke in Gohan, a massive reservoir of strength he'd last called upon when he actually transformed. His hidden powers' that would burst to the surface whenever he got angry and lost control were now coursing through his body, resurfacing once again.

"Do it," Trunks urged, but before the Android could follow up his threat, Gohan slid along the ground and swept the Android from his feet, catching Trunks as he slide past and throwing him to safety. Jumping to his feet, Gohan flew towards the still surprised Android and caught him by the arm. Beginning to spin, Gohan finally released his opponent into the air and raised his one good arm high into the sky.

"The nightmare is over, Android! Masenko...HA!" A single, massively large blast of ki was loosed from his palm and #17's eyebrows rose in astonishment as he stopped the beam with his outstretched hands. The two remained locked in a desperate battle, but with a final push, putting everything he had into the beam, Gohan pushed and the energy engulfed the Android before finally exploding in a massive sphere of golden energy that showered the area in small remnants of ki energy.

A crater had formed below the Saiyan warrior who fell down into it, a large, goofy smile on his face. His transformation had faded and simply allowed himself to freefall until he smacked the ground. Panting heavily, Trunks slowly approached, tears falling down his face. "Gohan, you did it!" He jumped into the air and raised his fists in celebration. "You really did it!"

"_Good job, Gohan. It's up to you and Trunks now. I know you'll do me proud son."_ And with his father's voice still ringing in his ears, Gohan closed his eyes and allowed sleep to overtake him...Peace had been restored and the Earthlings could go on with their peaceful lives once again.

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_We'll I hope you enjoyed the story. Please, leave a review and tell me what you thought about it and how I can improve. Thanks for reading!_


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